Pipe-wrench.



J. F. TINER.

PIPE WRENCH.

APPLIUATION FILED JULY 12, 1909.

970,574. Patented Sept. 20, 1910.

I H o 3 n A 13 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE JOHN FRANCIS TINER, OF UVALDE, TEXAS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-THIRD TO THOMAS M. MILAM AND ONE-THIRD TO WILLIAM D. KINCAID, BOTH OF UVALDE, TEXAS.

PIPE-WRENCH.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN F. TINER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Uvalde, in the county of Uvalde and State of Texas, have invented a new and useful Piperench, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a pipe wrench of that type consisting of a pair of gripping jaws simultaneously actuated by a handle lever operatively associated therewith.

The invention has for one of its objects to improve and simplify the construction and operation of devices of this character so as to be comparatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture, composed of few parts, and so designed as to have a wide range of operation, and at the same time possess a superior gripping power.

With such and other objects in view, as will appear as the description proceeds, the invention comprises the various novel features of construction and arrangement of parts which will be more fully described hereinafter and set forth with particularity in the claims appended hereto.

In the accompanying drawing, which illustrates one embodiment of the invention, Figure 1 is a perspective view of the wrench. 'Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section, showing the jaws in gripping position by full and dotted lines, respectively. Fig. 3 is a transverse section on line 3-3, Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view of the modified form of wrench equipped with anti-friction devices between the working parts. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a portion of one of the jaw members showing another form of anti-friction device.

Similar reference characters are employed to designate coresponding parts throughout the views.

Referring to the drawing, 1 and 2 designate the gripping jaws of the wrench, which are duplicates so that a single die machine may be used to manufacture them. These jaws are arranged between spaced top and bottom plates 3 and are hingedly connected therewith by rivets 4: that pass through apertures 5 in the jaws to hold the plates together and also constitute pivots on which the jaws swing. The hinged jaws are formed with arms 6 and 7 respectively, and disposed between the said members is an operating lever or handle 8 mounted to Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed July 12, 1909.

Patented Sept. 20, 1910.

Serial No. 507,109.

swing on a pivot 9 carried by the top and bottom plates 3. This lever engages the arms 6 and 7 and serves to open and close the jaws. The short arm of the lever 8 has flat opposite faces 10, and the extremities of the arms 6 and 7 are rounded at 11 so as to have wiping engagement with the flat sides of the lever as the latter is tilted. The portion of the lever between the pivot 9 and its inner end constitutes a cam 12, the portions 18 and 13 of which have wiping engagement with the flat opposed faces 14 of the members of the jaws. By this arrangement, the handle can be moved to either side of its normally central position to cause the jaws to grip a pipe or other object for turning the same in either direction without requirmg a re-adjustment or re-arrangement of any of the parts of the wrench, or removing the same from the pipe. In this respect, the present wrench differs from that type in which the operating handle or lever can be swung back and forth only to one side of its normal position, and as a result such wrench has to be turned over to grip an object to turn the same in the reverse direction to that in which it has been previously turned, as in screwing and unscrewing a pipe. With the present construction, the wrench does not have to be turned over, but merely the direction of application of power to the handle is reversed when it is desired to so grip the wrench to the object that the latter can be screwed or unscrewed.

My wrench can be applied to a pipe in the dark or without any care being observed as to which side of the wrench is nearer the operator, inasmuch as the parts are symmetrical and the operating lever acts equally on the opposed parallel bearing faces of the jaws and works with equal facility when turned in either direction.

The inner opposed faces of the jaws 1 and 2 are provided with concave gripping faces 15 and 16 struck on different radii, the radius of each gri ping face 15 being larger than the radius 0 the gripping face 16. The oppositely disposed gripping faces 15 are arranged nearer the pivot points 4 of the jaws so that larger pipes can be grlpped with greater power than would be the case if the faces 15 were disposed nearer the extremities of the jaws. Each gripping face has two sets of serrations a and reversely disposed so that the jaws can be gripped to a pipe for turning the same in either direction without any danger of slipping. When the pipe is turned in one direction, the sets of serrations a of one jaw and Z) of the other jaw will grip the pipe, while the other sets of serrations will grip when the pipe wrench is turned in the opposite direction. If de sired, a spring may be employed for holding the jaws open and for this purpose a helical spring 17 is housed between the members (3 and 7 and top and bottom plates 3 and has its extremities formed into arms 18 which connect with the jaw members 6 and 7 to draw the latter inwardly toward each other against the opposite sides of the handle. The spring is held in place by a pin or rivet 1!) carried by the plates 3.

In using the device, the wrench is applied to a pipe or other object by spanning the pipe, as shown in Fig. 2, and bringing one jaw into engagement with the pipe so as to offer resistance when the handle 8 is tilted to the dotted line position for closin the jaws around the pipe. While the hanc le is maintained in this tilted position, the wrench, as a whole, is turned so as to screw or unscrew the pipe. As the lever moves the jaws to gripping position, the outer end 11 of the member 6 slides on the adjacent flat face of the handle while the portion 13 of the cam engages the inner flat face of the jaw member 7. It will thus be seen that the handle has a wiping engagement with the jaw members 6 and 7 at points inwardly from the pivot 9 of the handle. If it should be desired to reverse the turning of the pipe, it is merely necessary to throw the lever in the opposite direction to grip the jaws to the pipe and then exert a turning movement to the wrench as a whole in the desired direction.

In order to reduce the friction between the jaw members and lever, anti-friction devices or balls 20 are arranged on the inner end of the lever at opposite sides to engage the opposed faces of the jaw members 6 and 7 and the latter are provided with balls 21 at their inner extremities to engage the opposite faces of the handle or lever. Another form of anti-friction device is shown in Fig. 5 in which the same consists of a roller 22 which may be arranged on the jaw members and handle in the same manner as the balls shown in Fig. 4.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying draw ing, the advantages of the construction and of the method of operation will be readily apparent to those skllled in the art to which the invention appertains, and while I have described the principle of operation of the invention, together with the device which I now consider to be the best embodiment thereof, I desire to have it understood that the device shown is merely illustrative, and

that such changes may be made when desired as are within the scope of the claims appended hereto.

Having thus described the invention,what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A pipe wrench comprising a pair of spaced plates, a pair of jaws independently pivoted to and between said plates and having opposed normally parallel bearing faces beyond their pivotal points, and an operating lever fulcrumed between said plates symmetrically between said bearing faces and having a syl'nmetrical working arm acting on the opposed bearing faces at opposite sides of its fulcrum.

2. A pipe wrench comprising a pair of spaced plates, a pair of working jaws pivoted to and between said plates and having normally parallel symmetrical bearing faces in rear of their pivots, means for holding the gripping faces of the jaws normally separated, and an operating lever fulcrumed to and between said plates symmetrically between the opposed parallel bearing faces of the jaws and engaging said faces at opposite sides of its fulcrum whereby when the lever is moved in either direction the gripping faces of the jaws will be caused to approach in opposition to the means for holding the said jaws normally apart.

3. A wrench comprising a pair of independently-pivoted jaws, a support therefor, spaced members connected with the jaws and having fiat opposed faces, a handle pivoted on the support symmetrically between the said members and provided with symmetrically-disposed fiat outer faces having a wiping enga 'ement with the opposed faces of the space members at opposite sides of its fulcrum, and oppositely-disposed gripping faces on the jaws, each gripping face having oppositely-disposed sets of serrations.

4. A wrench comprising a pair of plates, jaws independently pivoted between the plates, a plurality of opposed concave gripping faces on the jaws struck on centers of different radii, the gripping faces of larger radii being arranged nearer to the pivots of the jaws, each gripping face having reversely-arranged serrations, an operating handle having one end pivoted to and be tween the plates and provided with parallel straight sides, members connected with the jaws and extending therefrom between the plates at opposite sides of the leverand having symmetrical inner faces in wiping engagement with the straight sides of the lever at opposite sides of the fulcrum of the same.

5. A wrench comprising a support, inde pendently pivoted jaws thereon, opposed concave gripping faces 011 the jaws and each having reversely arranged serrations, a handle pivoted on the support, members on the jaws extending along opposite sides and overlying the pivoted end of the handle an anti-friction device on the end of each member arranged to ride on the lever at one side of the pivot thereof, anti-friction devices arranged on the lever at the opposite side of the pivot to bear on the inner opposed faces of the said member, and a spring operatively connected with the support and jaws for holding the members of the latter normally in engagement with the lever, both sets of anti-friction devices being so related to the jaw members and handle that the latter can be swung laterally to both sides of its normal central position for closing the jaws on an object to turn the same in either direction.

6. A wrench comprising a pair of plates, a pair of jaws independently pivoted to and between said plates and provided with symmetrically arranged opposed bearing faces in rear of their pivots, an operating handle pivotally supported by and between the plates and arranged between the opposed bearing faces of the jaws to engage the same at opposite sides of its pivot, and an anti-friction device on the end of each of said bearing faces, said anti-friction devices engaging the opposite sides of the handle in the movement of the latter.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto aflixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JOHN FRANCIS TINER.

l/Vitnesses WM. M. J ORDAN, S. J. DAVENPORT. 

